Alice's Warped Adventures
by Exodus of Leviticus
Summary: Alice walked onto her deck one morning to find a very odd rabbit sitting on her deck. Net thing she knows, she is somewhere that is definitly not Washington, USA. And she finds herself in the company of cat who becomes a girl, and rabbit who becomes a boy
1. Alice in Nenderland

11

Alice's Warped Adventures 

Alice clomped around the house at five in the morning, again. It was the third time this week. It was Sunday, the clomping at such an early hour had begun on Friday, when Dinae, Alice's black cat, had woken her up, mewling, wanting to go out on the deck. Groaning, Alice had arisen, walked across the room, and opened the door. Dinae had rushed out, screeching, chasing after, of all things, a white rabbit. How in the hell a rabbit had gotten up onto the third story of her old Victorian-style home was beyond her. This morning was no different. Dinae went out on the deck, prowled around, and commenced hissing at a white form that glowed in the pre-dawn light. Curious, Alice walked over to look at the rabbit that had, apparently, taken to hopping up the spiraling staircase to her deck. As she approached, it stirred, rolling over, and, amazingly, groaning. She halted, if a rabbit hopped up stairs, didn't run when a cat came near it, and rolled over and groaned in the morning, something crazy must surly be going on here. Either that or it had been way to long since she'd read up on rabbits. Alice's curiosity overcame her thoughts that all was not correct with her sanity. She crept closer; Dinae had stopped hissing, but was still staring at the rabbit with the same rapt curiosity as her human. Then, the rabbit moved again. This time it jumped up, looked around wildly, saw Alice and Dinae and froze. Nose twitching, it lay there, on the cold wooden deck. That's when Alice heard the mutterings. She took a closer look at the rabbit and saw its little rabbit lips moving. Then it came on, this so was _not_ a normal rabbit. It was actually _muttering_, real words. Leaning closer (as inconspicuously as possible) Alice caught what the strange rabbit was saying under his breath. "Rira, this would be a _great_ time to come and get me. I've been asking for three days now, but right now would really be a good time. Rira NOW!" Then, in a bright burst of light everything Alice and Dinae had ever known disappeared in an ethereal series of flashing lights and cloudy figures.

Chapter 1: When in Rome… 

When Alice came to she found herself staring into a hairy cat face. "Dinae!" She said, surprised. She was lying on something hard, but comfortable, and it held a familiar smell. Kind of like home. She looked around her. "Well, home is definitely not where we are now, is it Dinae?" She was lying in the grass, in some sort of clearing, surrounded by large, tall trees. The trees were like none she had ever seen before. The trunks were very wide, and covered in smooth, pearlescent bark. The bark was a marbled gray-green-black color, and the leaves were broad, jagged edged, and a bright, vibrant green. Standing up, Alice looked around for the talking white rabbit that had appeared on her deck back home in Washington. "Aha!" Said someone behind her. Whipping around, Alice saw the rabbit, and a girl with shockingly bright purple hair. Her own blonde hair blowing in small wisps around her face in the light breeze, Alice walked hurriedly over to them. Dinae, mewling, followed after, dragging Alice's black and olive army fatigue bag with her. "Hey!" Alice said, waving a hand at the odd couple in front of her. "Hello, where are we? And who are you? Why were you on my deck?" She asked the white rabbit in a rapid succession. The rabbit, who seemed to be busy talking to the girl with the purple hair, looked up at her. An amused expression on his face, the rabbit blinked twice, and in a poof of white smoke, transformed into a young man (about Alice's age) with hardly any clothes on. Blushing, Alice hid her eyes behind one too-long white sleeve. Buttoning up the black vest he'd picked up off the ground, the boy looked at her, smiling mischievously. "Hello there. I see you've gotten yourself into Nenderland." Her arm dropping to her side, Alice looked dumbfounded at the white haired boy who had only a few minutes ago been a rabbit. "Nenderland?" She asked. The purple haired girl spoke up now." Yeah, Nenderland. Don't tell me you've never heard of it before." Alice sat down, contemplating the question.

"Well," she started, " I've heard of a Wonderland, and a Neverland, but never a Nenderland." Looking down at Alice, the girl had a puzzled expression, and then knowing dawned on her. "Oh, so you've heard the other names our humble home used to be called before we put them together, I see. Yes, it's a rather complicated thing ya see. We were Wonderland, then these kids came along and called us Neverland, then, we held a council, and decided to mix the two together, and came up with Nenderland .So, there's the history of our name, in a nutshell, 'bout as good as I can get it down. But I bet Fluffy here could tell you a more complete story." The boy, who had been standing around a bit thoughtful and a bit spacey at the same time, started; but when the girl called him "Fluffy" he heated right up. "Say now, Rira, what did I tell you about calling me Fluffy? Huh? Come on now, how many times do I need to tell you, my actual, real name is-" But then Alice decided to interrupt. "Um, excuse me, so sorry to interrupt, but, what is your name? Your names actually, both of you, would be nice. By the way, I'm Alice, and this is my cat, Dinae." Dinae came out from behind Alice just then, still dragging Alice's bag with her. With a light leap, Dinae propelled herself into Alice's lap, depositing the bag at the same time. "Well, as I was going to say, my name is Rira Cheshire, and this is Aedan White, but I like to call him Fluffy!" Aedan, shooting a murderous glare at Rira first, held out a hand. "Im sorry, but I didn't catch your name the first time. How'd ya do? Im Aedan."

Grabbing his hand, Alice shook it, repeating her name for him. " Im Alice. And, incase you didn't catch it either, this is my cat, Dinae." Aedan looked down, but couldn't seem to find what he was looking for. "Excuse me, but Dinae seems to be gone." Startled, Alice stood, "What? Dinae? Gone? Oh no!" Then a voice Alice had never heard except a few times in her dreams and thoughts broke through the mild madness. "Don't you ever worry, my dear Alice, I'd never leave you! O, how could I ever?" Alice looked at Rira, where the voice seemed to be coming from, and found another girl, or rather, young woman. The woman was tall, with dark skin and long, smooth black hair. "Dinae?" Alice asked weakly before feinting. Aedan, swift on his feet, caught Alice before she hit the ground. Laying her down carefully, he looked at Dinae with a look as if to say, "Why did you change so suddenly?" Dinae stared him down, muttering under her breath "When in Rome.."

Chapter 2: Do the Flamingo

When Alice came round again, she was lying in the grass, again. The dark-skinned woman who she'd seen before was looking down at her. Sitting up, she saw that everyone was looking at her. "Huh? What happened, where's my cat?" Aedan and Rira looked at the woman, who sighed, and then spoke. "I am Dinae. This is just my human form. Are you okay Alice? I think I shocked you the first time." Alice lay back down again, looking up at the azure sky studded with white groups of fluff. "Yeah.." she said absent-mindedly. This was all just too weird for Alice.

Alice, who had never known anything other then her quiet hometown in Washington, was totally weirded out by the fact that, not only had her cat become a woman, but also she was in a totally different place then any she had ever known. Nenderland. Wonderland plus Neverland equals Nenderland. This was a place she had previously thought existed only in fairytales and dreams. It was a place her mother had told her about when she was little. A young girl, out on the roof of her house, with her young mother, telling her tales and singing her lullabies of far off worlds and pirates and disappearing cats and white rabbits never on time. These were the tales that had become the foundation of her very existence. These happy times before she had entered school, before she'd seen the world through other's eyes. Nenderland. Hadn't mother told her about this oddball place in between dreams and reality? Hadn't she mentioned it in passing when Alice had asked her about the stories her own mother had told her?

Blinking in the light of this odd world, Alice spoke again. " Yeah. I'm okay, no worries. Say, is there anywhere Dinae and me could stay for the night until we figure out a way to get back home?" She asked Aedan. He looked at her sadly. He shook his head, and then explained. "Alice, I don't think there is a way for you to get back home so soon. Yes, there is a place where we could all stay, but we right now have no idea how you'd get home." Dinae looked shocked, Alice closed her eyes again. Oh, God, this wasn't happening, this just couldn't be happening. Why was she even here in the first place? Someone was shaking her shoulder gently. "Alice." Aedan whispered, " We should go now. It's getting dark. There should be a town somewhere near here where we can stay." Surprised, Alice bolted up, knocking Aedan over. Caught in her skirt, Alice tripped and landed on him. "Oof!" Alice froze, and then spoke hurriedly, in an embarrassed rush. " O, God, I'm sorry, really!" Aedan pushed her gently off, rolling her over onto the grass. Winded, he sat up. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have woken you so suddenly; it's just, we really should get going." Standing up, Alice picked grass of her shirtsleeves and skirt. Grabbing her bag she was surprised to hear a meowing noise come from it. Looking inside, she saw both Dinae and another cat. This other cat was extremely out of place. It was pink, black and purple all over! The other cat leapt out while Dinae chose to stay and sleep. The cat leapt into Aedan's open arms. "Calm down Rira!" He said, and then Alice watched on, as the oddly colored cat became Rira in a poof of purple mist. Calmed down she turned to Alice, "Next time please check something before you pick it up! Jeez!" In a huff, Rira turned away and stalked off into the dusk-lit trees.

"What's her problem?" Alice asked Aedan. He looked at her curiously, then answered. "I think, I think she's jealous!" Alice looked at him incredulously. Why in the hell would Rira be jealous? Shaking her head, she slung her bag over her shoulder, careful of the cat that poked her sleek black head out of the opening. "Come on" Aedan said, Alice, curious to see more of her surroundings, followed, careful to stay by Aedan's side. "So, um, why would Rira be jealous? I mean, really, if I did anything to insult her, I'd like to know, so I could, you know, apologize." Aedan looked at her oddly, head tilted slightly, as if an animal still. "I really don't know. I mean, I have a hunch, but ya know, that's all it is, a hunch." Alice turned her head to look Aedan in the eye. Raising an eyebrow, she asked "and just what is this hunch?" Just then, they heard a scream from up ahead, it sounded like Rira. Aedan dashed forward, towards the sound. Alice, greatly confused and worried, followed blindly, trying to see in the fading light. All of a sudden, something large and pink jumped in her way, causing Alice to stop with a small shriek. Falling back a step, she found herself staring into the large, slightly crazed eye of a very big, very pink flamingo, of all things. Alice staggered as Dinae crawled out of her bag, and with a small poof, became human. The black woman, nearly invisible in the surrounding gloom, gave Alice her hand. Holding tightly to her friend, Alice leaned in to get a better look at the bird. It's beak opened, and sounds came out. Just like the rabbit on her deck, this flamingo was speaking. "Hello, human females, may I ask exactly what you are doing here in my forest?" Then, as if on cue, Aedan and a very pale, shaking Rira came crashing through the trees behind the flamingo. Upon seeing them, Rira's eyes promptly rolled back in their sockets and she crumpled into Aedan's arms. He gently laid her down, while staring at the large bird in front of him. The flamingo, who'd been looking at the two new humans over his shoulder, turned. "Greetings, human male, may I ask why you are in my forest?" Aedan stood up, stock straight, "_your_ forest? Since when did this forest belong to anyone besides the regular animals and the few humans on the outskirts of the towns surrounding here?" He asked the flamingo, who in turn replied, "Since the queen granted us these lands as breeding grounds so long as we agreed to be her croquet mallets." It answered imperiously.

Alice, who had walked around to join Aedan, looked incredulously at the pink, shrimp-eating bird in front of her; while Dinae, who'd been checking Rira's pulse, let loose a soft "meow!" of surprise. Aedan, a look of surprise to rival that of Alice's on his face, blabbered unintelligently for a few seconds before finding his words. "You mean you sold yourselves for a couple acres of woodland? You blithering feather beds must have really lost your minds! And you'll only loose more by lettings yourselves be conked on the head several times in an hour, for the entire day!" At this tirade, the flamingo made an enraged noise and flew at Aedan. Alice, having only a second to think, swung her bag up and around, smack into the face of the raging flamingo. When beak met bag, there was a crunching noise, and the flamingo fell to the ground, dazed. Alice, curious as to what was in her bag, reached in side, and pulled out a metal case. "My laptop!" She cried excitedly, opening the slim case that she always kept her computer in. Checking to make sure it had survived the impact with the bird, she found it intact. Closing the compact casing, she inspected it, and found a very small, barely noticeable indent where the flamingo's beak had struck home. Putting it away, she looked up to find Aedan staring at her. Startled, she said "What!" Aedan, still staring rapturously at her, answered. "I think you just saved my life." And he held out his hand, taking it, Alice felt herself pulled from the ground straight into a tight hug. Surprised, Alice felt herself stiffen like she always did when someone touched her. Relaxing, she heard him whisper, "Thank you, Alice" before letting her go. Unfortunately for Alice though, Rira had woken up before their embrace had ended. She was staring at them angrily, a hurt expression in her eyes. "Okay then," she said, lips tight, voice quivering. "Now that we're done here, lets get going on to the town. As it is, it'll be past time for the evening meal by the time we get there."

Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed 

Alice looked up at the sign hanging from rusty hinges on a rather unsteady looking wooden bar. The aged wooden sign held a simple message, as most signs do, and the message on this particular sign read the following. " Simplicity Village Inn" And that was what it was, the local inn, a common thing in most towns. "Well, shall we go in then?" Rira asked in a rather snobby tone. For the past three hours, this was the tone of voice Alice had gotten every time Rira had spoken to her. Sighing in unison, Alice and Aedan led the way in through the large double doors. Following haughtily behind them was Rira, and last through was Dinae. Closing the door behind her, Dinae shook her head at the three younger people, when would they ever gain any sense? As it was, they were heading straight to rebellion among them, couldn't they see? No, I guess they can't, she thought sadly, shaking her head again. With a final sigh, and a wistful longing for home, she followed her younger companions.

Pooling together in a small mudroom adjacent the main bar/dining area, they wiped their feet of the loam and mud that had cling to their shoes and boots. Removing their coats, they went in through another, smaller door and were immediately confronted by a portly man with a flowing handlebar mustache. "Hello young ones! What can I get for you tonight?" The kids, looking slightly unsure of themselves, allowed Dinae to take over. "Um, please sir, might we have a meal and two rooms for the night, please?"

She asked the tall man. Smoothing his mustache, the innkeeper boomed his response. "Of course sir and ma'ams!" Waving a hand, he directed them to the bar. Here they took seats at the counter, and placed their orders with a young woman in a short blue skirt and tidy white apron, the collar of her blouse lightly embroidered with what appeared to be lilies.

A few minutes later, the lady came back with their drinks, telling them their orders would be around in a few minutes. "So, children," she said as she placed their drinks in front of them. "What brings you here so late? Alls that's left is the regulars, getting their late night drinks." Alice thought over the question, trying to think of an appropriate answer. The reason they were really late was because of the flamingos, and the fact that Rira both screamed and fainted, or screamed and had to rest every time she saw one. Also, whenever Alice had tried to talk to her for the first hour of the four it took them to get here she wouldn't even look at her. Finally, she'd talked, but only in that haughty "I'm better then you!" tone of voice. At last, Aedan spoke up. "We had to come through the woods, but we lost the trail in the dark, and were constantly harassed by the flamingos the queen had allowed to settle there." He said it all with a smirk on his lips.

The waitress laughed in reply, and then frowned. "Yeah, those dang flamingos have been botherin' all the locals, and business has gotten a little slow, what with them dang flamingos switchin' trail signs and harassin' all who dare to try and find the trail again instead o' headin' back." She then took on a thoughtful look, and still had it when she came back with their orders. As she doled out their ham and fresh vegetables, she spoke what was on her mind after Alice asked, "Penny for your thoughts ma'am?"

"Oh, I was just thinkin', I remember once when I was a little girl, I tried roast flamingo and it was jus' glorious. I think I'll ask Marty to look for some when she goes out for her daily huntin'" At this, she got a horrified look from Alice, while Dinae merely looked interested, and Aedan and Rira shook their heads in agreement. "Yes, that probably tastes very good. Does it happen to taste anything like pheasant?" Dinae asked the woman (whose name turned out to be Mary) who replied, "Yeah, actually, it does taste a bit like glazed pheasant, why d'ya ask hon?" Dinae shook her head, "Oh, no reason, just curious, I think I may have had it before." By this time, everyone had finished their food, and all anyone wanted to do was sleep.

Mary, the waitress who had served them supper, lead them up a broad staircase to the rooms they'd be sharing for the night. "Oh, you know, I just thought," Aedan said, "We don't need two rooms after all." Mary, looking just a tad bit oddly at them, simply said, "oh, okay then hon.", and opened only one door. "Room 10" said the plaque on the door, and also the number ten was engraved upon the key that Mary handed them. Everyone filed in, said goodnight and thank you, to Mary, and closed the door. Turning to Aedan, all three girls asked, "Why'd you tell her only one room?" in unison. Aedan, looking rather surprised and taken aback, explained. It turns out he had a very good point. "You see girls, only Alice really needs a bed. The rest off us can just become animals. Rira and Dinae can sleep on the bed with Alice, and I'll sleep on the rug by the hearth." Rira was quick to say she'd join Aedan on the rug, while Dinae simply changed back into the cat she had previously always been in a poof of grayish smoke. Hopping on the bed, she spoke. "Well, what are you waiting for? You two," she said, looking at Aedan and Rira, "can change here and now, and go play with the fire, bank it up, make sure it'll last the night, otherwise, you'll be cold. And I know you have magic, so don't play dumb. Alice, you can go into the bathroom and change. And I know you have clothes in there, so don't worry."

Dinae was doing it all because she knew these were things they'd forget to do unless they were told to do it. They were worn out, and had every right to be. What with flamingos, grudges, and travel between worlds, not to mention four hours of walking through a forest with a serious flamingo problem, it was enough to do in even an adult in good health. Watching as Rira and Aedan glared at the kindling in the hearth and made it burst into a fire that burned merrily, she waited for Alice to finish changing. After about five minutes, Alice emerged from the small chamber that served them as a bathroom. "They have plumbing, Dinae, real plumbing. It's amazing. I never thought they'd have it here, what with everything so rural." Shaking her head, she went to put her skirt and shirts away in her bag, and then to hang her coat up in front of the fire. "So it'll be nice and cozy in the morning." She said when Rira gave her slightly rude inquisitive face. Fetching her brush from the night table, she sat down and began to brush out her long, slightly wavy blonde hair. She began humming as she brushed out her hair and braided it into two long, thick plaits. Out of the blue, she spoke. "My mum, I think she told me stories of this place, when I was little." She lay down on the bed, her braids flopping down with her. She looked at the ceiling, a dreamy look on her face. "She used to tell stories of a little girl and her cat who looked in her mirror one day and fell right through. There, through the mirror, was this world, that looked just like her parlor, except that out in the garden, the flowers could talk, and caterpillars smoked and sat on mushrooms. And when she looked over the garden wall, the whole countryside was set out like a chessboard. She also told me about how that same little girl who had gone through her looking-glass, came back to that world again, when she met with a rabbit who was never on time. And how when she cried, her tears flooded the weird little room she was in. And, she explained all about tea with the Mad Hatter, and the card soldiers and the queen's court and croquet with flamingo mallets!" She giggled like the five-year old she was in her mind, out on her roof with her mom on a fresh summer day. She sighed, going back through her memories, finally, she reached upon the one dream that had always ended with Dinae mewling at her to wake up. She was very young, three maybe, and she was crying. She was struggling in her mother's arms, trying to chase after the man in the black suit with the black hat and the black briefcase. The man in black was walking away, and he wasn't looking back, but she wanted him to look back, she wanted so bad to see his face. She wanted so, so bad, more than anything in the world, to see the face of the man who had torn her life to shreds, had ripped out her tiny heart and cut it to ribbons, and done the same to her mother. It was the day she found out her father, who was an airplane pilot, had gone missing. He was flying over Seattle, on his way home to his wife and young daughter to celebrate his daughter's birthday, when his plane had suddenly disappeared. Right off the radar, no radio signals, no maydays or S.O.S.'s, nothing.

It was her third birthday, and she was spending it in tears and disbelief, screaming "Daddy! Daddy! Where are you, Daddy?" throughout the night. Alice's eyes pricked with tears, she threw an arm over her eyes, her laughter dying. In the space of roughly three seconds, she had relived her entire third birthday, all twenty-four hours of it. She heard a small POP! And Aedan was at her side, Rira on his shoulder. "Alice, are you okay, what's wrong? Alice drew her arm away from her eyes, dragging tears with it. "Daddy?" she whispered, in a voice not her own, but that of a child's. Aedan sat down beside her; Rira jumped down, and curled up next to her shoulder, as Dinae did the same. "Alice?" Aedan asked tentatively. "Aedan?" She whispered, her voice normal again. "Alice! What happened? First you were telling us about your mom's stories, and then you started to laugh, and then cry, what's going on?" Alice had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she didn't quite comprehend Aedan's words. "I..don't know. I was looking through all my memories, and hit upon the day..the day.." Aedan looked at her oddly. "What day?" He asked her quietly, his voice just above a whisper. "The day..my birthday…my daddy..disappeared. He was a pilot, and his plane was right over Seattle, and it just..disappeared, right off the radars. No mayday, no SOS, nothing. Just, poof, gone, just like that. And the man, from the agency, dressed all in black, he came, and he told us, and then left. We were so upset, but he didn't do anything, anything at all, to help us, just came, rang our doorbell, gave us the news and walked off, back to his car, then drove away. He never once looked back. I have been without the presence of a man in my life since I was three. I have not celebrated my birthday since then, because we have always considered it the day my daddy died."

"Oh." Aedan said. "Oh, gosh, Alice, I'm so sorry. I , I didn't know.." Alice sat up, the tears gone from her eyes. "No, that's okay, you couldn't have known." She got up and started shooing Rira and Dinae off the bed so she could pull back the quilt and soft cotton sheets. "Now," She started, crawling into the bed. "I say we get a little sleep. Its late, and I for one can say I've had a long and tiring day. I don't know about you guys, but," She stopped to blow out the candle on the nightstand, then continued, "I'm going to sleep."

Slightly startled, but understanding her point, Aedan and Rira "poofed" back into animals while Dinae clamored under the quilt, nestling by Alice's head.

With a sigh, Alice closed her eyes, and then opened them when images began to play on the screen inside her mind. Wow. She hadn't dreamt of these things since she was little. She didn't want to think of home right now, she just wanted to think about her day, and why Rira was being weird, and what brought about the memories of that day. It must have been the bed, she had slept in her mother's bed that night. That was why she never slept in large beds, it reminded her of that night. Looking around cautiously, she rose, doing her best not to disturb Dinae. Swinging her legs over the side, she hopped down, pulling the quilt with her. Tip-toeing to the hearthrug, she made herself a little nest by the fire, careful of her companions who had curled up in sleep. Closing her eyes with a contented sigh, Alice slipped into the velvet hands of dreams, allowing it to swallow her whole and numb her mind peacefully.

Dinae woke with a start, Alice was nowhere to be seen on the bed. Leaping down, she looked around, stopping when she saw the pile of blankets on the hearthrug and the long blonde braid. Alice was safe and sound. "How could I have forgotten her thing with beds?" Dinae whispered to herself cursing her forgetfulness. Shaking her feline head, she pounced over to Alice, settling herself in the middle of Alice's nest.

Chapter 4: "I don't think we're in Washington anymore"

Alice was walking around a house. She was following her mother who was wearing a little white frock dress, complete with frilly apron. Alice, to her surprise, was wearing the same thing. Inspecting it, she found that it had little flowers embroidered on the sleeves and collar. And her little black patent-leather Mary-Jane's were topped by white socks with a little frill on the hem. Suddenly, Alice realized that she had stopped, and so had her mother. Her mother was standing in the doorway of a parlor. With a shock, she recognized the parlor to be the one in her own house. She watched as her mother stood up a little straighter, and stepped into the room. Gasping, Alice watched her mother disappear. Silently, she ran into the room after her mother, but she wasn't there. Alice looked all around, noticing only slightly how everything in the room seemed to have gotten a little bigger. Then, her eyes rested on the mirror. It took up nearly the whole wall, at first, she only took in the room around hr, then, her eyes came to settle on herself. With a jolt, she realized that she had shrunk, or something of the sort, because she was now about seven years old again. Her hair was shorter, about shoulder length, but was still the slightly wavy hair it had always been. She ducked down, hoping that when she popped back up and looked in the mirror, she would be her normal, fifteen year old self again. Crouching, she jumped, only to find someone completely different looking back at her. The girl looked a lot like Alice, but there were certain differences. For one thing, her hair was not the strawberry-ish blonde with little waves that Alice's was, but instead was wavy, almost to the point of being called curly, and pure, golden blonde. Also, her eyes were gray-green, not the blue-green that Alice's were. Other then that, they were the exact same little girl of about seven years old. They wore the same little white frock dress and apron with the flowers on the sleeves and collar and, when she stood back a bit, the same black shoes and white frilly socks. They had the same nose and the same mouth and the same skin, well, almost. Alice had a little tiny spattering of light freckles across the bridge of her nose, but that was it. The freckles were barely noticeable anyway. Alice moved in front of the other girl, who stayed still but turned her head to watch and then their eyes met. Alice screamed and jumped. She was looking into the eyes of her mother when she was seven years old. And she was on the other side of the looking-glass. "Alice?" She whispered. The little girl looked at her, alarmed. "Yes," She whispered back, "I'm Alice. But who are you?" And she put a hand up to the glass, and it came through, reaching for Alice's hand. She reached for it. "I'm Alice too.." She whispered again, taking her mother's hand, but when they touched, the world suddenly dissolved in blurs of color. Alice sobbed, reaching, scrabbling, trying in vain to get back to her mother, but she couldn't do it. With a lurch, she woke up, a dream, it had all been a dream. She opened her eyes, then leapt to her feet, grabbing her cat Dinae. They were in an unfamiliar room. It looked rather rustic, the bed in front of her was mad of rough hewn wood, and the quilt was obviously hand made. She had been sleeping on the floor in front of a fire place wrapped in a second quilt, and next to her, stirring, were a white rabbit and a pink and purple cat. Alice let out a stifled scream and rushed to the window, throwing open the shutters. She was looking out at a cobbled main street upon which people were already bustling about. No one seemed to notice the girl with long, strawberry-blonde braids shove her head out the second story window of the town inn. If they did, they didn't seem to find it odd at all. Even though the girl was holding a squirming black cat and looking as if at any moment, she would drop the cat, burst into tears, and throw herself out the window.

Hauling Dinae back in, Alice threw herself upon the bed, and said, turning to the cat, "Dinae, I don't think we're in Washington anymore!" Then promptly burst into tears.

Burying her face into the belly of her cat, Alice cried, then just as suddenly as she had started, stopped. She sat up and held her cat in front of her face. Dinae had a very scandalized look on her face. "Oh, Diane, I'm sorry! I completely forgot that we came to Nenderland!" She looked over at the hearth rug where in place of the cat and the rabbit were a boy and a girl. The boy had very pale hair and the girl had extremely shocking purple and pink hair. Both were staring at Alice and Dinae (who had turned into a person again) with wide eyes. The boy spoke up first. "Alice, are you okay?" She nodded, still staring blankly at the smoldering embers behind the boy. The girl spoke next. "Are you sure you are?" She asked rather rudely. "Because you seem to be very unstable. This happened last night too." Alice glared at the girl. "I'm fine, thanks, Rira. And Aedan, you might want to put a shirt on, its rather chilly outside." And with that, she walked into the small bathroom adjacent to the room, trailing her bag behind her and shut the door, leaving a still-scandalized looking Dinae on behind on the bed.


	2. Doubting Sanity

Enjoy, ma peeps! as i have recently found a fan base, apparently..Hahaha, have fun, and thanks for your comments!

Chapter 5: Doubting Reality

Alice emerged from the bathroom a half an hour later, dressed for adventure. She wore what appeared to be an old blue Victorian style gown, split up the center of the skirt and bordered with white lace. The collar was open to reveal a lace camisole peaking over the top of a laced up old corset that was a rather worn black satin that clung to its sheen only barely. Under the split skirt she wore a pair of tight black shorts and knee high combat boots, polished to a shine and laced with plain black laces and silver grommets. Dinae, who'd changed back into a woman dressed in a simple black and pink pinstriped sundress, stared. "Where did you find THAT?" She asked, suddenly sitting on the bed, her mouth agape at Alice. Alice simply smiled rather mischievously and said airily, "Oh, in my bag." Dinae continued to stare, but stopped to glare at Aedan as he walked through the door the room they had all shared that night. Aedan stopped stock still when he saw Alice. He stared as well, only his mouth stayed shut. Or rather, it opened, then closed again, and opened, and closed, and stayed closed after that. Alice gave him a peculiar look, toying with one long braid. She had simply redone the braids form the night before, putting in little blue bows. "What? I'd say that I fit in at least a bit better then I did yesterday. I don't think anyone here wears jean skirts and Chuck Taylors, do they?" Aedan stared some more, then opened his mouth, and used it. "Who are Jean and Chuck Taylor?" He asked her. Now it was Alice's turn to stare, then, she stood up a little straighter and explained. "Jean is a material, made of cotton usually, not a person, and Chuck Taylor was a guy they named a style of sneakers after. Sneakers are shoes. See?" She reached into her bag and pulled out her All Stars. They were black and white, with the toes colored in Sharpie with a pattern of blue flames. Aedan made a silent "oh." And then preceded to walk to the window and look outside, saying nothing. Just then Rira walked in as well, carrying with her a tray of food. Seeing Alice she stopped, and slowly the tray began to slip form her fingers. Alice, seeing what was happening, rushed at her and managed to just barley catch the tray before it fell to far. Sitting on the floor, she set the tray down and looked up at Rira. The other girl was dressed in a similar fashion, only her dress wasn't as beat up and of a different style. Also, it was purple and the stockings she wore underneath were bright pink and matched her hair.

Alice turned to Aedan, who was watching rather amused, and said, "See, I knew if fit in better!" Aedan laughed as Alice grinned up at him and Dinae, who had a smile onher lips. Rira merely pouted and announced rather haughtily, "I brought breakfast, if anyone even noticed I was gone." Alice turned back to her, slightly confused, and then smiled. "Oh, sorry Rira! Thanks a ton! It looks great!" She then picked up the tray and set it on the bed, grabbing piece of what appeared to be cantaloupe and began eating. Everyone, even Rira, followed her cue eagerly. When she bit into the fruit, she found right away that it was not in fact cantaloupe, but something far better. It tasted as if someone had mixed watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes together and made one fruit, adding a little cream, and a little bit of strawberry and mango, and then several things she couldn't quite identify. It was like a fruit bowl all in one fruit! She eagerly picked up several other slices, placing them on one of the napkins the servers had sent up with Rira. Aedan, noticing her sudden liking, said." Oh, so you've discovered our nolem-yrreb?" Alice gave him a confused glance. "What's a nolem yerab?" She asked. He pointed at the fruit she was eating. "That's a nolem-yrreb. It's a kind of melon that's grown locally. We'll probably pass some of the bogs where it's grown on our way out of town." Alice cocked her head, reminding Aedan of a puppy. "Bogs? Like cranberries? Do you have cranberries here? They're really good, but are only really grown in Massachusetts, and a few other places." Now it was Aedan's turn to be confused. "What's a cranberry?ADn whats Massachoosets?" He asked her. Alice gaped. "Oh, Massachusetts. It's a state on the east coast of the US, near the Atlantic Ocean. I live in Washington, on the west coast. But,you don't know what a cranberry is? You poor person! They are so good! Its like a tart berry, maroon-ish in color and are grow in bogs. They're small, but really good. Theyr are like, seet and tart at the same time, and cranberry juice is sooo good. When I get back home I'll have to give you some, we've got it at home, mum knows its my favorite.." Her voice trailed off and she thought of home and cranberries, but was interrupted when Rira said with a voice as if she thought Alice was incredibly stupid. "You mean aikons" She held up a large crimson berry that secreted a sweet smelling crimson juice. Alice, catching a wiff of the scent, smiled. "Yeah, that's a cranberry! Here, let me taste it, to be sure." With that, she grabbed the berry and popped it in her mouth. She grinned as the juice dribbled through her lips. Swallowing, she nodded. "Yup! That's a cranberry for sure! Except, wow.." Her eyes grew wide a sshe took in the contents of the fruit tray. "They're so much bigger here! Back home they're tiny!"

Rira glared at the strawberry-blonde girl in front of her, beginning to loathe everything about her. From her braids to her laugh to her smile to her boots and her dress and worn corset and everything! Continuing with the "Alice is an incompetent nincompoop" voice, she spoke again. "No, that's an aikon. They grow in bogs, they are not tiny, and don't grow in your world, unless some stupid person like that Alice girl in your mother's stupid stories stole seeds and planted them back in your world." She said flatly. Alice stared. "My mothers stories aren't stupid, and these at least taste like cranberries do, and they look like cranberries, and are grown like cranberries, so naturally, I would assume that they are cranberries and that they are simply called something different and are just grown better then the ones in my world are. Im sorry if you thought otherwise, but continue to think that way if you wish, because I will continue to contradict you." And with that, Alice promptly popped more of the aikons/cranberries into her mouth and continued with her breakfast, her face impassive and her eyes the color of a storm on the sea. Her face was unreadable. Rira's however showed mixed emotions of hatred and shock and confusion. She too, though, continued to eat, her face stony.


End file.
